Kivu Graben Earthquakes
Monday, 4. February 2008, 15:41:31
Two strong earthquakes in the Kivu region on Sunday 3 February 2008 killed at least 40 people in Rwanda and D.R. Congo.
Kivu is a rift lake. The Kivu Graben is part of the great western East African Rift System. The graben, approximately 90 km wide and 200 km long, trends NNE-SSW and straddles both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Structurally, Kivu Graben is the southern extension of the Albertine Graben in Uganda. The western border fault (with tilted fault-block mountains rising on the west side) is also marked by destructive active volcanoes like Nyamulagira and Nyiragongo (approximate location shown as red dots on map).
The first quake which measured 6.1 on the Richter scale occurred 20 km N of Bukavu, D.R. Congo - marked with orange-coloured square on map. The second quake with a magnitude of 5 struck 40 km W of Butare, Rwanda, and 55 km E of Bukavu (See map). The quakes wsere followed by several aftershocks.
Hundreds of people were wounded. Many homes, as well as schools and churches, were damaged.
• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Africa_quakes_kill_at_least_40_officials_hospitals_999.html
• http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,327930,00.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7225896.stm
Ole
Kivu is a rift lake. The Kivu Graben is part of the great western East African Rift System. The graben, approximately 90 km wide and 200 km long, trends NNE-SSW and straddles both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Structurally, Kivu Graben is the southern extension of the Albertine Graben in Uganda. The western border fault (with tilted fault-block mountains rising on the west side) is also marked by destructive active volcanoes like Nyamulagira and Nyiragongo (approximate location shown as red dots on map).
The first quake which measured 6.1 on the Richter scale occurred 20 km N of Bukavu, D.R. Congo - marked with orange-coloured square on map. The second quake with a magnitude of 5 struck 40 km W of Butare, Rwanda, and 55 km E of Bukavu (See map). The quakes wsere followed by several aftershocks.Hundreds of people were wounded. Many homes, as well as schools and churches, were damaged.
• http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Africa_quakes_kill_at_least_40_officials_hospitals_999.html
• http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,327930,00.html
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7225896.stm
Ole
You must be logged in to write a comment. if you're not a registered member, please 
